Friday, November 16, 2007

Stewardship

I have two passions which represent the vast majority of what I read. One is theology - which is the study of God, the Creator, and how he interacts with man, His creation; and the other is the study of economics, and how changes in the economy affect the stock markets. In my previous blog I wrote about God's Word - how it is absolute truth, and how God has given it to us as a guiding light which illuminates right and wrong, good and evil, and blesses us with guidance on how we should live. In the gospel of Matthew 22: 37-40 we find Jesus addressing the pharisees and sadducees. He is teaching about the two greatest commandments:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."Love. There are many aspects to love. The Word teaches us that it is loving to discipline our children, thus giving them boundaries and teaching them about the joys/rewards of obedience. The Bible also teaches that it is loving to take care of the poor, the sick, and the elderly. Stewardship, is a word we don't often associate with love, but I would say it is an important practical application. After all, if love for God flows from us it will be reflected in how we treat everyone and everything. Showing love to someone is being a good steward of the relationship God has blessed us with.

I try to view everything God has blessed me with, wether it is my wife, my children, my job, my home, car, $$, or anything, as something to be cherrished and thankful for - something God expects me to be a good steward of. The Meriam Webster online dictionary defines "stewardship" as follows: the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially : the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care. The Bible teaches us that wisdom is essentially the practical application of knowledge; and a fool is someone who knows what is right, but chooses to do what is wrong. Therefore, you could say that stewardship is the wisdom of love.

It can be difficult to be a wise steward - as it is a heavy burden when given the appropriate respect - but it is always very rewarding; and God is always fiathful to make even the heaviest burden light, if we will but give it to Him and ask Him for guidance. Two of my favorite examples of Godly steward's in the Bible are Joseph and Daniel. Both held extraordinaryily long and honorable tenure's of approximately 70 years - with Joseph managing all of Egypt's resources, and Daniel managing most of Jerusalem through three hostile seige's. There are many things I could say and writing about regarding stewardship. But I think the most impactful thing to do is simply meditate upon what it means to be a wise steward of all that God has blessed us with. If anyone reads this blog, it is my prayer that they will take some time to study the stories of Joseph and Daniel in God's Word, and prayerfully consider how they might be better stewards of their relationships with God, their family, their friends, coworkers, and wealth. By His grace, btw

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The Man of the House

Loves: God, me, his children, his smelly pound dog, the dark caverns of the stock market, Ultimate Frisbee, tennis, church, planting things that grow, crazy action films, and a good cup of coffee on a weekend morning. Does not like: peas and drama.

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Woodward Family Foundations

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." II Tim 3:16-17

The Lord God: "Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours" (1 Chron 29:11)

Our Family: "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh" (Eph. 5:31-32)

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